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County committee told $9 billion in FY25 rescissions could complicate federal appropriations
Summary
County committee received a federal legislative briefing saying a recently passed rescissions package (about $9 billion) and possible future rescissions could allow the White House to "impound" funding and complicate bipartisan appropriations and the FY26 budget process.
Alameda County’s Personnel Administration and Legislation Committee heard a federal legislative briefing July 21 that warned recent rescissions and possible future rescissions could complicate the federal appropriations process and the county’s fiscal outlook. The committee was briefed by representatives from CJ Lake.
The presenter said the Senate passed a rescissions package described as roughly $9,000,000,000 in FY25 rescissions and that the bill, which the presenter said the President signed, initially included cuts that would have affected public broadcasting and proposed a $400,000,000 reduction to PEPFAR that was later restored. "It's about $9,000,000,000 in terms of FY25 rescissions," the presenter said. The presenter added that Republicans sought to codify prior cuts and that the package could be the first of several.
John Assini of CJ Lake told the committee that rescissions packages require only a simple majority and therefore are not subject to the Senate filibuster, a dynamic he said could undermine the bipartisan appropriations process. "If the White House sends a rescissions package 45 days prior to the end of the fiscal year... they could hold that funding until... essentially impounding that money," Assini said, describing a procedural pathway that could delay or withhold funds until Congress responds.
Supervisors expressed concern about the implications for congressional checks and balances and noted limited direct remedies at the county level. Supervisor Fortinaro Bass said she was "very concerned" about what she described as Congress "relinquishing their power" through rescissions and called the development "very unfortunate" for checks and balances. No public speakers commented on the item.
The committee’s briefing also covered the near-term congressional calendar: the House was expected to recess after Thursday of that week and the Senate was scheduled to sit into the following week, although the presenter said some senators were being urged to remain in session in August to process nominations. Assini said the Senate Appropriations Committee had advanced several bills and that an initial minibus including MilCon-VA might come to the floor as an early test.
The committee did not take formal action on any federal bill at this meeting. The briefing closed with staff noting the report was focused on appropriations activity and that they would keep the County updated as the fall budget season approaches.
